French and American management cultures

By John Gaynard, November 13, 2000

"It is becoming a fairly common occurrence to read newspaper articles about French companies making acquisitions in the U.S. Indeed two companies [Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux and Vivendi] seem to be making something of a competition out of who can buy the biggest part of the North American water distribution market. Suez recently purchased Calgon Corp. and Nalgo Chemical Co. while Vivendi bought the California company U.S. Filter. Interestingly, however, until Rhone Poulenc Chimie acquired Union Carbide in 1987, French purchases of American companies were very rare. Since then more than 20 big French companies have made forays into the U.S. corporate scene. A book written recently by Guillaume Franck, who is a professor of international management at HEC, an influential French business school, takes a searching look at French acquisitions in the U.S. The book should be required reading for any French company wishing to buy into the U.S. or any American company wishing to buy into France. The book's title is Conquering the American Market, [Editions Odile Jacob].

Conquering the American Market

The book is full of serious research. It is also rich with anecdotes: such as the one about the French “managers” sent to the U.S. by the parent company with high-level technical skills and non-existent people skills."...

If you want to read the whole article, written by John Gaynard, management consultant, please click here:

• French and American management cultures - part 1
• French and American management cultures - part 2
• French and American management cultures - part 3